Live 5-2-1-0 Message

Physical activity, healthy eating, and limited screen time are important for physical and mental health. They are especially important for kids! When children develop healthy habits early on, they are more likely to keep those habits as they grow.

Live 5-2-1-0 is a message with four goals that children can work toward every day:

The Live 5-2-1-0 message:

Ties together the key behaviours that most physical activity and healthy eating programs promote into one simple message so it’s easier for families to remember.

Provides clear evidence-based guidelines that children can work towards every day, no matter where they are starting from.

Promotes a coordinated approach by offering all partners in every sector of a community one message to share and support.

The recommendations in the Live 5-2-1-0 message are evidence-based, originating from the Childhood Obesity:Assessment, Prevention and Treatment Expert Committee,* and endorsed by the Canadian Paediatric Society. The message is widely used, with many successful children’s health programs across North America using the 5-2-1-0 guideline. ‘Live 5-2-1-0’ is the BC-specific version of the message, developed by a team at BC Children’s Hospital in partnership with several BC communities.

* Barlow SE and the Expert Committee. Expert committee recommendations regarding the prevention, assessment, and treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity: summary report. Pediatrics 2007;120 Supplement December2007:S164—S192.

* http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/120/Supplement_4/S164.full.pdf

(See particularly ‘Prevention Recommendations: Patient-Level Interventions’, pS189).